


What Lies Beyond The Setting Moon

by TheMidgardSerpent



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Angst, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Triggers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-12
Updated: 2020-11-12
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:41:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27528610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMidgardSerpent/pseuds/TheMidgardSerpent
Summary: Hirde Prime's virus did more than just prevent Adora from turning into She-Ra. In a race against time, Adora and those closest to her must find a way to combat its effects, or watch helplessly as it completes its master's last effort to bring her down.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 43





	What Lies Beyond The Setting Moon

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome! Ladies, gentlemen, and everyone in between, join me as we take a journey overflowing with both gut wrenching agony and heart palpitating joy. This is this the first piece of literature that I have ever made publicly available, so I'm really excited to share it. 
> 
> Quick shout out to itcanprobablysmellfear for helping me clean this mess up. She may deny it but she's been a huge support in helping my confidence build as a writer. Check out her stuff too!
> 
> Without further ado, let's dive in shall we?

It was supposed to be a perfect day.

After a four week visitation, the diplomats from planet Kolo had taken their leave. It was the fifth planet that the Star Siblings had introduced to Etheria and part of the uprising against Horde Prime. The people had sent a large team of ten representatives to pay respects and homage to those who broke Prime's dominion and gave them hope again. The diplomats brought many gifts of food, clothing, and crafts from their home.

During the visit though, Catra had taken every opportunity to rile Glimmer up. When Adora had asked why, she simply responded with "It's fun" and a smile on her face. While most of her mischief was harmless, weeks of going back and forth with the queen turned its playful nature into pure spiteful tension. After all, Adora and Bow couldn't be present to play mediators for the two all the time.

"Leave! Go! If I have to see your insufferable face one more time today, I will teleport you to the tallest spire in Brightmoon and leave you hanging by your shirt!", Glimmer had loudly exclaimed to Catra almost as soon as the diplomats left.

"What's the matter Sparkles? Can't handle a little teasing?"

It was not the words being exchanged, but the smug grin Catra wore that finally broke Glimmer. Her twitching eye was the only warning before she tried launching herself at Catra. Fortunately, Bow was present and quickly intercepted Glimmer's would-be attack, holding her back as she thrashed around while he tried to calm her down.

"Easy Glimmer, she's doing this intentionally just to mess with you."

"Let me go! I'm going to smack that stupid smirk off her stupid face!"

After walking the diplomats back to their ship, Adora and Finn returned to the throne room and beheld this unfolding spectacle. The five year old, giggling as they watched Glimmer struggle and their mom laughing at her, started singing, "Auntie Glim is mad! Auntie Glim is mad!"

Adora and Bow exchanged an exhausted expression of frustration rooted in their solidarity of having to be referees for their wives. After receiving a stern look from Adora, Catra finally relented and apologized to Glimmer while running a hand through her long hair. Though there was still some minor lingering animosity, the four adults collectively decided to head back to their rooms to defuse.

Adora and Catra were given a royal missive later that night ordering them to take three days of rest and relaxation. The letter heavily stressed the importance of doing so away from the castle, which prompted Catra to break into another smug grin as she thought, _"Looks like I win again Sparkles._ " The letter also provided the location of one of the royal family's cabins for them to use for their ordered vacation. Finn's infectious energy could not be contained as they happily ran around their room after being told the family was going on a trip.

The cabin they stayed at rested on a small hill overlooking a crystal clear lake surrounded by a mountainous landscape. While cozy and comfortable, the small log house was more intended as a place to rest from the activities available in the surrounding area. There were hiking trails in the mountains, fishing down by the lake, and even a zip line with a harness that Micah had made for Glimmer before she could teleport. Riding the line quickly became Finn's favorite part of the trip, laughing and shouting as their golden hair and tail flowed in the wind. Adora and Catra couldn't help but be overjoyed seeing their child so happy. Down by the lake there was a dock with a feeding ring attached to it. Whenever the family walked on the dock the fish would swarm to the ring in anticipation of being fed. Adora tried teaching Finn how to fish, but kept accidentally stabbing herself with the hooks. Eventually though, and only seven stab wounds later, the two had caught enough fish for dinner and then some.

On the last day of their trip, after coming back from a hike, the family found themselves by the lake as the day moon began to sink below the horizon. Finn was splashing and playing at the water's edge while Adora and Catra were sitting side by side, hands intertwined. Catra rested her head on Adora's shoulder and the blonde rested her own on her wife's sweet-smelling hair. Occasionally, Adora would turn to kiss Catra's forehead and would get a squeeze of her hand in return. If she was feeling generous, Catra would lift her head to place a gentle kiss on Adora's lips. With a day like they were having, she was feeling very generous indeed.

A sudden cry of alarm from the lake shook them from their shared trance. They snapped their heads to look at the source, Finn who had slipped on some soaked rocks.

"Be careful Finn! Don't be so reckless!" Catra shouted down to them. "Seriously, the kid should be more careful."

With a soft smile, Adora whispered, "Hypocrite."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me."

"I know what you said, Adora, I just don't see how I'm a hypocrite."

Adora raised her head with an incredulous look as she turned to Catra. "Are you kidding me? Do you not remember all the crazy stuff you did when you were their age? Picking fights with Octavia, sneaking into Shadow Weaver's room 'Just to see what's in there', not to mention the insanely dangerous parkour stunts you pulled. Finn is exactly like you were."

".....As I recall, you were right there with me doing the exact same things."

Adora's expression softened as she gave Catra a loving look. "Yeah well, someone had to make sure you were ok."

Catra stared back at her for a moment before looking away with a blush, saying "Pfft, sounds like someone liked me even back then. How embarrassing for you."

"Yea ok, Miss 'I love you, I always have!' ", Adora fired back at her wife while trying, and amusingly failing, to mimic her slightly raspy voice.

Catra narrowed her eyes before smirking and sneaking another kiss. "Whatever. Let's head back to the cabin. We still need to make dinner." She stood as she spoke and offered her hand to help Adora up. Adora gave her a broad smile as she accepted the assistance and rose to meet her.

Adora turned towards the lake and called out, "Come on Finn, we're heading back to the cabin for dinner!"

"OK mom!"

Finn started running towards them as Adora opened her arms to pick them up.

"A beautiful wish."

The calm yet malicious voice caused Adora's blood to run ice cold. _It can't be…_

Before she could think more about it, Finn reached her. As soon as they made contact, they crumbled into dust. Eyes wide with horror, Adora stared at the ash pile that was once her child. A shadow blocked out the setting moon behind her, and as she turned to look at the source, she fell to the ground in terror. Horde Prime stood there, his four green eyes looking down at her with an amused and bored expression. Memories flooded her mind of clones surrounding her, the broken body of Catra in her arms, and the feeling utter helplessness. She tried to summon the familiar power inside her, but she could barely get the words out as her breath began to come out in quicker and quicker breaths.

As she tried and failed to transform, Prime broke into a smile and chuckled as he began to walk towards her. Catra suddenly stood in front of her while shadows began encroaching on the edges of her field of vision. She looked down at her in concern as she asked, "Adora? Adora what's wrong?", seemingly unaware of the events happening around her. The words reached Adora, but they sounded muffled, as if she had cotton in her ears.

Adora looked between her and Prime's approaching form, trying to warn Catra. Before she could get the words out, Prime stopped just behind Catra. Keeping that same unsettling expression leveled at Adora, he reached for Catra's head and calmly snapped her neck as if the act was no more significant than brushing dust off of his shoulder. While Catra crumbled to the ground, Adora's eyes began to spill thick rivers of tears as she looked at her wife's broken form.

"But there will be no future."

Prime's voice rang unnaturally clear in her ears, bringing her focus back to him. Her eyes, pupils shrunk to pinpoints, watched as he continued to advance on her. She tried to crawl away but Prime seemed to walk faster even though his gait never changed. Once he reached her, he slammed his foot down on her chest. A sharp pain tore through her as Prime continued to apply pressure. He bent down, grasped her throat, and began to squeeze.

"Not for you."

Prime straightened his back dragging Adora up into the air, choking her as she struggled to break free of his grasp. She began to slip into unconsciousness as his hand squeezed so hard his metal finger broke the skin on her neck, causing a thin line of blood to begin to flow.

_Can't breathe..….Can't breathe_

"Prime shall rise again. This time, I shall drag you back to the depths of the void with me", he said as he broke into a cruel smile.

_No….I…..Catra….._

"......ora! Adora! ADORA!"

Adora shot awake at the sound, but her panic attack continued to ravage her. Her rapid, choppy breathing was the only sound in the room. She couldn't open her eyes. The darkness she did see pervaded her being, surrounding and crushing her with its overwhelming presence, demanding her submission to it. Her thundering heartbeat was the only sound she was aware of, anything else was nothing more than muffled vibrations. Her limbs and extremities felt numb to the point of non-existent, her skin coated with a cold sweat. Tears were flowing freely. The pain Prime had inflicted on her in the dream still ran rampant in her chest.

Though even an earthquake could not have shaken Adora from her tortured state of mind, eventually her hyperventilation became too much for her to bear. It made her queasy, and she couldn't hold back. She had enough coherence to lean over the bed before her stomach emptied itself.

Adora felt her hair being pulled back and out of the way as well as a hand that began to slowly rub circles on her back. She heard someone say something but it still wasn't clear. As she finished vomiting, she started trembling from the overwhelming sensations that had taken hold of her. The hand continued to soothe, gently stroking up and down while she gradually sat back up.

The voice became clearer after what seemed like hours to Adora, and she recognized it as Catra's familiar cadence.

"Shh… shhh. It's okay. You're okay. You're here with me. I've got you. You're safe."

Adora turned towards the source as best as she could, trying to get closer. She felt two arms encircle her body and she responded in kind. Her head was guided into the crook of Catra's neck. She inhaled Catra's familiar scent, felt her warmth, her soft fur, and began to settle, all while Catra continued to whisper quiet reassurances to her.

Eventually, Adora raised her head to look at her girlfriend. As her eyes met Catra's, she noticed that the heterochromatic pair had begun to shed a few tears of their own.

"Hey, there she is. There's those beautiful blue eyes." Catra said, breaking into a soft smile as she raised her hands to cup Adora's face. Adora smiled as she felt Catra kiss her forehead. "I'd kiss you on the lips but you did just puke over the side of the bed."

She let out a choked laugh and gave Catra a light punch to the shoulder. "You're such a jerk."

Adora could feel the smirk in Catra's voice as she responded, " Maybe so, but you love me, and my jerkiness comes with the package, so you're kinda stuck with it."

Adora gripped Catra tighter. Her voice was still shaky but she managed to say, "Yea, I do love you. More than you could know."

She felt Catra begin to purr and rock their bodies slowly from side to side. The vibrations and soft movement helped her nerves calm down immensely. After some time, exactly how much she couldn't be sure, she heard Catra softly ask, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Adora felt herself freeze up, and had she looked in a mirror she would have seen her eyes grow hollow and distant as she recalled her incredibly vivid nightmare. She powered through it though and began to describe the cause of her attack through unsteady breaths. "It… it was Prime. He appeared out of nowhere and…...killed….. killed our _child,_ killed _you,_ and was killing _me."_ Tears had begun to flow again as she recounted her experience.

Catra decided to tactfully skip over the child part of that, filing it away for a future discussion, as she spoke again, "Well, he's dead, remember? You killed him. He's gone. You're safe now."

Adora retreated back to the crook of Catra's neck and squeezed her again in response. Over Catra's shoulder, she noticed Melog pacing just past the bed, its mane flickering between shades of pink and blue.

They sat in silence for a while longer, content to enjoy each other's presence in the here and now. Catra was the first to break the silence as she spoke up, "Let's get you cleaned up, okay Adora?"

Still not moving from her girlfriend's neck, Adora gave a small nod in response and replied, "Okay."

As they got up to head to the bathroom, Adora felt a sharp pain in her chest. She winced in response and had to sit back down on the bed as she held her hand to her chest.

"Adora, are you okay?" Catra asked with concern written over her face.

"My chest hurts."

"I mean, that makes sense. You had what sounds like a terrifying nightmare followed by a bad panic attack. Your body probably just isn't back to normal yet."

Adora sat in quiet contemplation for a moment before responding, "Yea. Yea that must be it."

**Author's Note:**

> Comments give me life, let me know what you think!


End file.
